SONG OF THE DAY: Zedd ft Foxes – “Clarity”

When Zedd’s album came out a few months ago, one of the bartenders at the club I spin at started requesting this track and I started playing it. The original version starts with Foxes singing acappella, for a long time, which while absolutely gorgeous doesn’t work on the dance floor. Mixing the intro over the long outro Yiannis mix of Zedd’s last single “Spectrum” worked quite well, and then I realized that the outro beats of Zedd’s track with Ellie Goulding & Lucky Date “Fall Into the Sky” worked even better. Yes, my dance floor hears a lot of Zedd – and for good reason, the German producer is making some of the best electro tracks right now. After the intro, the beat kicks in and there is a bit of a bro-sounding “yeah” chant in the background which marks an increase in energy. Being able to merge full-on vocals with strong beats shows a real development in sounds for Zedd as he advances from big room club tracks with samples (like “Shave It” and “Slam the Door”). Recently Zedd and Foxes performed “Clarity” beautifully on the David Letterman show, which showed the world that the song that bangs on a dance floor works just as well as a gorgeous ballad with piano and violin accompaniment and that both are real musicians – Zedd can really play piano and Foxes can really sing – such a welcome reprise from the rumors that many of the big EDM superstars pay engineers to do their production for them. DJs looking for more aggressive mixes should check out the remixes from Amtrac, Shreddie Mercury (great name), Swanky Tunes, and Torro Torro. The expansive video reminds us all how great it is when artists and producers are featured in their own videos so the fans can put a name with a face – rather than random twentysomethings partying in a club.